The Small Girl turned ten yesterday. Ten whole years. Where has the time gone?
With double digits I guess she can’t be classified as a “Small Girl” for much longer, especially as she gets taller by the second!…
As we are in Switzerland for a few days, and she celebrates her birthday away from home, and thus away from my kitchen – this of course meant no cake cobbled together by moi. Although not an ideal situation in her eyes, we compromised on a “Make Do” cake on the promise of a home-made one when we get back. By pure luck, we have a fantastic bakery in the town we are staying in, and they came up with the goods in the form of the nicest Black Forest Gateaux I have ever tasted.
It took ages to actually try any, as we had to wait quite a while for her to recompose herself – during her initial attempt at blowing out her candles, she managed to spread much of the chocolate across the table instead, and didn’t extinguish a single flame! But once she had stopped laughing enough to taste some, the Birthday Girl claimed it was that good, I don’t even have to make her a “real” cake when we get home! Thanks Bakery!
To me it doesn’t seem possible that she’s ten whole years old – her baby and toddler years often seem months ago rather than years, but when I think about it we’ve packed a lot into that time… Ten whole years of being a mother for me – ten whole years of existence for her, including 4 house moves, 3 temporary homelands (including England obviously!) 8 years of being a big sister, 5 years of being a Third Culture Kid, and 13 countries tucked under her belt so far.
I look forward to the adventures to come my sweet. Make do Cakes and all…
gorgeous cake, lovely post, particularly loved your mum’s comment…. perfect!
Thank you Gemma! :) x
What a gorgeous cake!
As the mother of a 12 year old girl, I wish you luck for the next few years ;-)
Thanks Cass! I can come to you for advice though right?? :D
BTW, I love your Sunday photo.
Thanks Brooke! :)
It is amazing where these little ones have been in their short lives! And clearly, that wasn’t a German chocolate cake because she would not possibly have said you didn’t have to make a new one at home. Happy B-day R.
I think they are incredibly lucky! The furthest I had been at that point in my life was Holland, Portugal and Germany! :D Thank you! :)
Happy, Happy Birthday to ‘Small’ Girl! Double digits is no small deal.
And what a place to celebrate it in – I’ve loved your snowy IG feed, Emma x
Thank you Pia! It’s just gone so quickly! xx
Looks amazing. Have not had Black Forest Gateau in years. I hope she enjoyed and that she had a lovely day x
I think she enjoyed both! Thanks Jenny! :) x
That cake looks delicious (and adorable)! Good to hear it was a successful birthday, and looking forward to more beautiful Switzerland pictures!
Thanks so much Heather… More to come! :D
Wow, 10!! Z is 8 this year and I can’t quite believe it. Time goes too fast.
A very big happy birthday to Small Girl, and that cake looks amazing!!!
Thanks Emma xx
Oh yum! My hubby is a huge fan of black forest gateaux but I’ve never been able to find a good one, and I’m not brave enough to attempt one myself! Happy Birthday to your lovely girl, ten is a big number! x
Thank you Ruth… Try it, I dare you! :) xx
Birthday wishes to your big little one! We’ve just had a 10th Birthday too – sadly no cake though, because he doesn’t like it! How can you not like cake?? Anyway, we had meringues and cream instead, which seemed to go down well! x
I cannot understand the not liking cake, but I guess Meringue and cream is something of a decent substitute! Thank you T! :)
Happy birthday to her! I hope she enjoyed it!
Thanks very much Diana! She really did! :)
And don’t forget 3 languages in her list of accomplishments. On the subject of the cake – I would make do very nicely with a fabulous cake like that thank you very much. Happy Birthday to your big girl. xxx
True, although her Danish has diminished considerably since being here. I think she can still ask for a chocolate pancake, talk about her favourite TV character and say the basics hello/please/thank you etc. etc. which is a bit of a shame! German’s going well though, better than mine anyway! :D Thank you! xxx
She is so lucky to experience and have experienced all she has in her precious 10 years, she is also a very lovely, special, talented girl with it. Here’s to the next 10 years Ruby … and that is a scary thought if they fly by as fast as the last 10! Big hugs. x
Thanks Mum. xxx
Ah, happy birthday! Now that’s a cake I wouldn’t mind making do with :)
I might come back here for my birthday later in the year! :D
Ah – that is a result, although of course you could always make another cake anyway when you get home. These milestones are so incredible aren’t they? Happy Birthday to your big girl!
Thanks so much Sally! :)
Happy birthday to your babe, I can’t believe she had done 13 countries already. My poor kids have not even hit a passport yet! Mich x
Thank you Mich. Travel is my compensation for having left the UK. I try and pack in as much as I can get away with! :D xx
Happy birthday to your not so small girl! I know what you mean about how fast that time goes. My eldest boy will be 10 soon and I always think that if we double the time he’s been here, it will go by in a flash and he will be an adult :( What a wonderful life your daughter has had so far :)) That cake looks lush!
I know. It’s scary isn’t it? That’s why it’s good to write down what you’ve done and where you’ve been, and then you realise that it has been quite a long time after all! :D Thanks Anya! xx